Nineteen attorneys general are investigating the six largest Wall Street banks over their involvement in an international green energy banking alliance, arguing it hurts their states.
As part of a civil investigation announced Wednesday led by Republican Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Eric Schmitt, the attorneys general are asking the investment giants for documents related to their participation in the United Nations’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance — a coalition of global banks that voluntarily commit to aligning their portfolios so as to be net-zero by 2050 in accordance with the Paris climate agreement.
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The investigation represents a much larger, concerted effort among state Republican officials to counter green finance practices, including environmental, social, and governance investment principles, for disfavoring fossil fuels relative to alternative energy sources.
CRACKS FORM IN WALL STREET’S COMMITMENT TO GREEN FINANCE
The banking alliance was set up “to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets,” Schmitt said in a statement.
“Missouri farmers, oil leasing companies, and other businesses that are vital to Missouri’s and America’s economy will be unable to get a loan because of this alliance,” said Schmitt, adding, “These banks are accountable to American laws — we don’t let international bodies set the standards for our businesses.”
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Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo are subjects of the investigation, and the document requests “act as a subpoena,” Schmitt’s office said.
Republican attorneys general and state financial officers have used their authorities over the last year to investigate and blacklist financial institutions found to have policies that would slow or end investment in the fossil fuel sector, including oil and natural gas.
States participating in the Missouri-led investigation include Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Five other states have joined but can’t be named due to state laws or regulations regarding confidentiality, according to Schmitt’s office.
